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Urgent call from Gaza civil society: Act now!

We Palestinians trapped inside the bloodied and besieged Gaza Strip call on conscientious people all over the world to act, protest and intensify the boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel until it ends this murderous attack on our people and is held to account.

With the world turning their backs on us once again, for the last four days we in Gaza have been left to face massacre after massacre. As you read these words, over 120 Palestinians are dead now, including 25 children. Over 1,000 have been injured including countless horrifying injuries that will limit lives forever –- more than two thirds of the injured are women and children.

We know for a fact that many more will not make it through the next day. Which of us will be next, as we lie awake from the sound of the carnage in our beds tonight? Will we be the next photo left in an unrecognizable state from Israel’s state-of-the-art flesh-tearing, limb-stripping machinery of destruction?

We call for a final end to the crimes and oppression against us. We call for:

Arms embargos on Israel, sanctions that would cut off the supply of weapons and military aid from Europe and the United States on which Israel depends to commit such war crimes;

Boycott, divestment and sanctions, as called for by the overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society in 2005

Without pressure and isolation, the Israeli regime has proven time and time again that it will continue such massacres as we see around us now, and continue the decades of systematic ethnic cleansing, military occupation and apartheid policies.

We are writing this on Saturday night, again paralyzed in our homes as the bombs fall on us in Gaza. Who knows when the current attacks will end? For anyone over seven years old, permanently etched on our minds are the rivers of blood that ran through the Gaza streets when for over three weeks in 2009 over 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including over 330 children.

White phosphorous and other chemical weapons were used in civilian areas and contaminating our land with a rise in cancers as a result. More recently 180 more were killed in the week-long attacks in late November 2012.

This time what? 200, 500, 5,000? We ask: how many of our lives are dispensable enough until the world takes action? How much of our blood is sufficient? Before the Israeli bombings, a member of the Israeli Knesset Ayelet Shaked of the far-right Jewish Home party called for genocide of the Palestinian people.

“They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes,” she said. “Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.” Right now nothing is beyond the murderous nature of the Israeli State, for we, a population that is mostly children, are all mere snakes to them.

As said Omar Ghraib in Gaza, “It was heart shattering to see the pictures of little boys and girls viciously killed. Also how an elderly woman was killed while she was having her iftar at Maghreb prayer by bombing her house. She died holding the spoon in her hand, an image that will need a lot of time to leave my head.”

Entire houses are being targeted and entire families are being murdered. Early Thursday morning the entire al-Haj family was wiped out — the father Mahmoud, mother Bassema and five children. No warning, a family targeted and removed from life. Thursday night, the same again, no warning, five more dead including four from the Ghannam family, a woman and a seven year old child amongst them.

On Tuesday morning the Kaware family did get a phone call telling them their three-story house would be bombed. The family began to leave when a water tank was struck, but then returned with members of the community, who all came to the house to stand with them, people from all over the neighborhood.

The Israeli jets bombed the building with a roof full of people, knowing full well it was full of civilians. Seven people died immediately, including five children under 13 years old. Twenty-five more were injured, and eight-year-old Seraj Abd al-Aal succumbed to his injuries later that evening.

Perhaps the family was trying to appeal to the Israeli regime’s humanity, surely they wouldn’t bomb the roof full of people. But as we watch families being torn apart around us, it’s clear that Israel’s actions have nothing to do with humanity.

Other places hit include a clearly-marked media vehicle, killing the independent journalist Hamed Shehab, injuring eight others, a hit on a Red Crescent rescue vehicle and attacks on hospitals which caused evacuations and more injuries.

This latest session of Israeli barbarity is placed firmly in the context of Israel’s inhuman seven-year blockade that has cut off the main life-line of goods and people coming in and out of Gaza, resulting in the severe medical and food shortages being reported by all our hospitals and clinics right now.

Cement to rebuild the thousands of homes destroyed by Israeli attacks had been banned and many injured and ill people are still not being allowed to travel abroad to receive urgent medical treatment which has caused the deaths of over 600 sick patients.

As more news comes in, as Israeli leaders give promises of moving onto a next stage in brutality, we know there are more horrors yet to come. For this we call on you to not turn your backs on us. We call on you to stand up for justice and humanity and demonstrate and support the courageous men, women and children rooted in the Gaza Strip facing the darkest of times ahead. We insist on international action:

Severance of diplomatic ties with Israel

Trials for war crimes

Immediate international protection of the civilians of Gaza

We call on you to join the growing international boycott, divestment and sanction campaign to hold this rogue state to account that is proving once again to be so violent and yet so unchallenged.

Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians do not have to grow up amidst this relentless murder and destruction by the Israeli regime.

When we can move freely, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the world’s Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.

ACT NOW, before it is too late!

Signed by:

Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions
University Teachers’ Association in Palestine
Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (Umbrella for 133 orgs)
General Union of Palestinian Women
Medical Democratic Assembly
General Union of Palestine Workers
General Union for Health Services Workers
General Union for Public Services Workers
General Union for Petrochemical and Gas Workers
General Union for Agricultural Workers
Union of Women’s Work Committees
Pal-Cinema (Palestine Cinema Forum)
Youth Herak Movement
Union of Women’s Struggle Committees
Union of Synergies—Women Unit
Union of Palestinian Women Committees
Women’s Studies Society
Working Woman’s Society
Press House
Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel
Gaza BDS Working Group
One Democratic State Group

Today I emailed my Congresswoman Rep. Lois Frankel to let her know that the policies of the US gov't do not represent my views on Israel/Palestine. I have been a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights since the 1970's.

I'm not pro- israeli, but having read Jerry Jampolsky's book 'Love is letting go of fear' i'm inclined to think that Israel's murderous behaviour is a cry for help in itself. Have you ever considered instead of taking a victim role, Palestinians could rally up some forgiveness and try to understand that the entire world conspired to eliminate Jews from the face of the earth. Seventy years is not a very long time ago. And if you are so ignorant that you think that it was just Germany, you need to educate yourself. I think if the situation in the Gaza strip is going to get better, it will begin with forgiveness, and a global apology to Israel.

That's a good question. My line of thinking started there around 10 months ago... After doing some academic research... Only the Mizrahis deserve empathy... The Ashkenazi Settlers should be jailed... Every. Single. One. Of. Them. While I am not opposed to a Hebrew State (not the distinction from Jewish), I do believe enabling their victim attitudes will enable more violence... It's like appeasing someone who is manic and believes he can fly that he can in fact fly... then they will try jumping off the next 40 story building they see...

Really?
Where?
If in PALESTINE, do the Palestinians have any say in this? Or, do we simply allow the, "jewish state", to continue on in Palestime because they have been there (illegally) for so many years?
Do we, instead, move them elsewhere?

If the Jews want a Jewish -state, I say: let them do what everyone else, since international laws says/ They should at least purchase any/all land from the rightful owners. And, of course, the owners would have ultimate say in whether they sell or not.

Palestine, from what I understand, was NEVER for sale. I suppose this would be why, "isreal", is an illegal state. Palestinians never did agree to the jews landing on their shores and taking over. This is the entire problem of THIS so-called, "jewish state". It still belongs to PALESTINE. And, unless you are Palestinian, what you think about it matters not.

Lol, let's see the facts:
Jews have been the subject of repercussions throughout history, true
The Holocaust killed millions of Jews, true
The international community as a result decided to finally do something about it and... Setup a Jewish state in somebody else's land?! Should have been in US or Germany, if you ask me, but fine
IIsrael then is not happy and invades the rest of Palestine and drives them out through military and other various tactics
IIsrael actions are called illegal by the international community but nobody does anything and US outright supports them
Israel murders hundreds and thousands of innocent Palestinians for every single soldier that it loses - but it never gets reported on the western media
Israel has illegally driven Palestinians out of almost their entire country!! And continues to bomb and kill

And you say we should apologies to Israel and their killing is a cry for help for something that happened a century ago? Wow. That some sane thinking.
And you are saying that if you have been the subject of violence you are now free to perpetuate on other innocents and you should not only be stopped but instead should be given an apology and invited to continue doing it. Well done you. Great logic xx

I think that while that may be true, the Palestinians are a people who lived on the land for thousands of years and have undergone a number of military occupations: Ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Israelites, Philistines, Tjekker, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, British, Jordanians. The people there today are probably a hodgepodge of descendants from these various occupations. Israel, whatever its history may be is as of right now an oppressive military occupation. I agree that forgiveness will need to be heavy if there is to a peaceful situation, but it is not one sided. The Palestinians are not the ones who have targeted Jews for millennia, and since many are Muslim, part of their history is shared with Jews. Islam is a descendent of Judaism, so part of the history, I'm talking ancient history, is not exclusive to modern Jews. Also the entire world has not targeted them, it was mostly a Europe thing. There are plenty who think had these populations lived under the Ottoman Empire rather in Europe they would not have been persecuted and many of them would not have had to die. There are a number of populations who only know persecution, and are still being violently persecuted to this day, it does not give any of them the right to dominate others. And that is what is happening right now, right now it is Israel who is oppressing and persecuting a people that has no military, no economy, no real government and who have been on the land for an extremely long time. These are not the same displaced people who have experienced persecution, they are powerful state with a strong economy and military and backing by the U.S.

I am a supporter of peace. As I see it Palestine is so vunerable because they are lacking in government. Why? Perhaps if Hamas were disarmed and out of the equation replaced by soild authority they might not be treated with such disregard.

The only way Hamas can be "disarmed" is if all Palestinians are reunited in one territory, which would mean all Zionist occupiers withdrawing back to the pre-1967 boundaries, thus allowing a single Palestinian state to come into existence.
Is that what you have in mind?

Who destroyed the culture of Palestine? When the Brits took over Palestine instead of ensuring self-rule as promised, there was an entity called Palestine, autonomous as was the way of the Ottomans. The only institution not in place was an army and therefore the zionists had easy pickings. And where is Palestine on the map today? Swept away. And now that 1.5 million are packed into an arid strip and being bombarded, where is there to go? Into the sea! Just as Israelis are always claiming Palestinians want to do with them. Israelis have already succeeded in wiping Palestine off the map. Only trouble is that the mostly silent majority aren't buying the crocodile tears. Oh it's so rich when Netanyahou proclaims: 'we, the government of Israel, protect our citizens with the Iron Dome missile defence shield , but Hamas protects with human shields.' He thinks we're stupid! We know that 3.1. billion dollars per year can buy a lot of weapons and defence. And Gazan Palestine? What can prisoners, deprived of basic needs, with nowhere to hide do? Also, don't forget that Hamas won the election in 2006, fair and square only that result was not to the liking of Israel and its agent the USA. No government indeed! Sabotage in fact, whether the Brits, the Americans or the Israelis. Now the Canadian Harper government joins the fray against--despicable!

So people think that Hamas should disarm and let the Zionist killers in Israel just terminate the last Palestinian. What kind of naïve thinking is this?
Over the last 60 or 70 years, the Zionists publicly announced their plans to exterminate or at least drive Palestinians out of their land to make Israeli a "Jewish" state, even the Israeli Arabs.
Think again. the only reason that Israel accepted the cease fire is that their people are suffering and the Israeli Government will no exist if this suffering lasted for too long.

Palestinians didn't kill Jews in the Holocaust. Why should they have to apologize for anything? If you really believe this, then why don't you ask the Germans to apologize and maybe then Israel will stop bombing?

That was the most ignorant comment I have ever read. Apologize for what? For the innocent lives of children that they have taken or for the lives of the women? Also, Israel only uses the Star of David as well as the claim of wanting a "Jewish state" to legitimize the "state if Israel".... This is not an issue of religion. In fact, majority of zionists don't even believe in god but believe he promised them the land of Palestine. How does that make any sense? Once again, they use Judaism only as a clutch to get away with their inhuman actions. They don't want forgiveness. They want to continue with their bombings & killings and wipe out the entire Palestinian population.

I am pleased to learn that you have been taken in by hasbara propaganda. Perhaps now you will try giving the truth a chance?
If the hasbarists have told you 'the entire world conspired to eliminate Jews from the face of the earth', how do they explain the fact that any of them survived at all - if the entire world was intent on their elimination?
Clearly, the hasbarists must have misled you - don't you think?
Countries like Britain, Russia and America were not involved in the "conspiracy" you mention as it was their troops who liberated the Nazi camps from which Jews - and many others - were eventually freed. Is that not true?
As far as I am aware, very few Palestinians had anything to do with the attempts to eliminate Jews during the Second World War - or do you have alternative evidence?
The only way conflict will end in Gaza and the rest of historic Palestine is when the American and European Zionist colonists go back to their original homelands and leave the Palestinians to live in peace with one another.
Either that or accept a single secular truly democratic state in which peoples of all beliefs can live together in harmony - as they did before the Zionists showed up.
It's OK, Heather, we will not wait for the Zionists to apologise as we know they are incapable of it - as I am sure you must know. But we all forgive your ignorance.

Your New Age psycho-babble is offensive. Palestinians should "forgive" and accept Israel's ongoing extermination of their children? Would you have advised Jews to forgive and accept the pogroms and gas chambers? Israeli society is poisoned by its own narcissistic narrative of victimhood and exceptionalism; it has become a relentless war machine. Europe created this monster and Europe must intervene to dismantle it.

Incidentally, Israeli Jews do not own the patent on human suffering. Most of my family was executed or driven into exile during the Spanish Civil War, yet I do not feel entitled to murder someone else's children in recompense -- nor would I permit someone else to murder in my name.

You really need to wake up and start reading Jewish authors on the subject of Palestine. I recommend you start with " The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" by my favourite Ilan Pappe, a native-born Israeli from Haifa and a man of great integrity and courage, who taught history at Tel Aviv University until 2007 when he was forced to leave Israel in order to protect his family from the numerous death threats coming from "fine upstanding" Israeli citizens including colleagues and neighbours, because he dared to tell the truth about the Israeli state (dangerous thing to do in Israel) Maybe that will shake you out of the brainwashed state you are evidently in.

Its hard to believe a global apology to a state the chooses to murder civilians and children is in order. Also i find it a bit presumptous that reading one book has lead you to this opinion. The situation in palestine started before world war 2 but the state of israel was created in the aftermath as an expression of "your apology".
Personally i recommend reading Witness in Palestine, Anna Baltzer, Palestine Peace not Apartheid, Jimmy Carter, Gaza in crisis, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe. In addition the apology owed should be to all the victims of the genocide that continues in front of your eyes and also the victims of the holocaust who are largely ignored and often live in poverty in israel. It seems that these victims are more valuable dead than alive to israel. First they survive their own genocide only to have their story of survival perverted in order to sustain more bloodshed.

I'm sorry but reading your comment makes no sense. Why should Palestinians apologize? So Jews being mistreated gives them free reign over another group? Granting Palestinian land for a Jewish state is an injustice done unto Palestinians. Genocide has gone on in every corner of the earth and to this day it continues. So Jews aren't alone in their suffering. Still no excuse for what's happening in Gaza and in all of Palestine. Forgiveness is needed all around.

We are very sorry to the people of Phalistain our government is blind our government is deaf they are sleeping they not hear the voice of precious land of Islam. I am from Pakistan I m 19 years old I am trying to rise our youth voice protest against the Israeli attacks. This is all I have to do. I am with you the people of Whole Pakistan with you but our government... no words to say

A protest in Los Angeles this last Saturday against the massacre in Gaza drew over 1,000 people, word has it. It heartens me that people are speaking up. However, today there will be a Zionist pro-massacre counter-protest. I wonder how many will show up. Regardless, our work is not done. We have to control the narrative and demand the decolonization of Palestine. In addition to Zionists, sympathizers might point to China's absorption of Tibet and say it's not possible. My cousin today said it's too far away. No, it is possible as South Africa has shown and it's very close to home. The U.S. directly aids Israel in its annihilation of our Palestinian brothers and sisters so it can have influence over Western Asia. No more expansionism and blood money! Justice delayed is justice denied.

Guys, please consider creating a petition on Avaaz. This highly effective and broad world community is to help. I myself am to write a letter to Polish PM and foregin affairs minister but Avaaz enables to send massive amount of messages to the highest officials and you probably know the best who should read that. I am awaiting to see your call on avaaz.org and I'm wholeheartedly with you.

Demonstrations have taken place all over Ireland and will continue as long as this appalling barbarity continues. We will be pushing for your demands to be met:
- break diplomatic ties with Israel!
- bring Israel to the International Criminal Court for war crimes!
- set up international protection for the citizens of Gaza!

Indian people protest in front of Israeli embassy, demand an immediate end to the barbaric attack in Gaza

New Delhi, 13 July 2014: Hundreds of Indian people today held a protest demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy against the most barbaric genocide of this century being carried out by Israel in Gaza strip in which children, women, old and sick people are being killed in large numbers. The protestors submitted a memorandum to the Israeli ambassador in India and demanded to immediately put an end to the attacks. Hundreds of students-youth-intellectuals-artists and ordinary citizens took part in this demonstration and raised their voice against this Zionist-Imperialist attack.

This demonstration was organised on behalf of all the justice-loving citizens of India under the banner of 'Indian People in Solidarity with Gaza'. The protestors expressed their anger against this barbaric genocide and showed their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Anti Zionist-imperialist, anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian people slogans were raised in this demonstration. The speakers said that they express their solidarity with the innocent ordinary population of Gaza and demand from Israel to immediately put an end to this genocide. They condemned the silence of the governments all over the world including that of the government of India and said that Indian government must put forward a demand before the Israeli government to immediately put an end to this barbaric genocide. In case Israel fails to do so, the Indian government must sever its diplomatic relation with Israel.

After the demonstration, memorandum were supposed to be submitted to the Israeli Ambassador in India and to the Indian government, but it could not be submitted as both the concerned offices were closed .

I joined a protest rally on Kensington High Street, at which there were thousands of people.
Despite the efforts of the police, the road ended up being closed to all traffic which - in central London on an early Friday evening - had quite an effect on the whole of London.
There was a truck with a PA system on the back, through which speakers from Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Green Party, CND, and MPs such as George Galloway and Jeremy Corbin spoke too.
There were many other organisations represented at the protest rally against the Zionists murdering Gazans. Some of the most popular participants were members of Neturei Karta, who were holding Palestine flags and having their pictures taken alongside pro-Palestinian protestors. Their presence proved that the demonstration was NOT antisemitic and it also showed how people of all beliefs can come together in order to protest against inhumanity and injustice.
In North London, Veolia were forced to walk away from a £4.7 billion ($7.5 billion) waste management agreement last year and their plans to build and operate a waste incinerator facility near Hatfield have been turned down.
We are winning the war against Zionism through BDS as the Zionists know.
It is an area in which we can all be relatively self-reliant and one in which we do not need governmental agreement to implement. I too want to see an end to the EU-Israel Agreement and I will work towards that. I note that there are now 17 EU countries advising their business companies to consider the reputational damage involvement in the occupied territories may mean for them. This is a good start towards getting all of Israel boycotted. It is just a matter of time.
Meanwhile, we must all pressure our elected representatives and governments to bring the mad dog Zionists to heel and not allow them to keep on behaving in their murderous ways against Gazans.

People from Brazil are devastated with the news and images from this genocide against people from Gaza. Nothing justifies the murder of human beings. Specially innocent human beings! We are all brothers and sisters living under the same sun. We own no earth. We are children of the same planet and shall help each other to achieve happiness in this rare, fragile and temporary thing called life. Because in the end this is all that matters. We can only fulfill our souls when we share our love. Sharing is the key. Please stop this madness now!

The israeli crimes against the Palestinians has been since 1947 when they stole the land from the Palestinians. Since 1947, before the state of israel was established, till our time, not even 5 years in a row passed without the israelis didnt act the way they are acting now against the Palestinians, in Palestine,Jordan, Libanon or other places. These crimes that we see now are not new. Please read the UN reports about the massacres that the israelis had done and still doing against the Palestinians. Not even one country in the world has been condemned by the UN for its crimes as israel was condemned. Please dont just look on whats happening now, seek for what was done before, since 1947. The israeli policy is to kill the young Palestinan men and destroy their homes and land.

As a UK national, I regret having to say that the British have historically a huge burden of responsibility for the current situation. After British forces dislodged Turkish forces from the Middle East after 1918, they implemented the Sykes-Picot agreement, effectively re-drawing the map of the area to resemble how it looks now, regardless of natural or human population boundaries.
They also took control of Palestine from 1917 to 1947 under a League of Nations / United Nations Mandate, allowing high levels of Jewish immigration into the area prior to and after the Second World War.
They then walked away from the situation, leaving the undefended Palestinian people in the lurch. When the Haganah and their terrorist gangs (forerunners of the "settlers") attacked the Palestinians and drove half of them off their own land, British forces were nowhere to be seen. A shame and perpetual stain !!!
The British initially and the Americans subsequently are absolutely responsible for the murderous situation in Palestine - which it makes it astonishing that they are allowed to wield vetoes in the United Nations with which to stop any kind of human rights enforcement actions against the Zionists. Truly remarkable.
Neither the UK nor the US are worthy of being trusted with such vetoes.
As long as the Zionists have UK and US politicians in their pockets as their partners in crime, this murderous terroristic regime in Tel Aviv will continue getting away with their slow-motion ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
Bring them all down through Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions !!!

Dear brothers in palestine. I am ftom poland and live in germany since 27 years. I am a jehovas witness and as i see the crimes against you and your families then my heart cries out for you in pain. My god jehova will act soon and he will stop all this. The horror you suffer every day will end soon. I pray to god may he forgive us all. May he protect you all. Israel thinks that they are blessed by god. No they are not. This fight will end up in harmageddon. May gid bless you all.

As a humanist, my perception is that this conflict is fuelled by religion.
From my perspective, there is no god - Jehovan or otherwise - and nothing "divine" or supernatural will intervene in the current mass slaughter of innocent Gazans by a lunatic regime in Tel Aviv which is intent on mass murder and total ethnic cleansing of all non-Jews (including Christians) from Palestine.
Forget religion - it is part of the problem, not part of the solution. It doesn't help at all.

What are you talking about? Hamas's missiles are crap compared to the missiles and defense that Israel has. Also, how many casualities has Israel reported? NONE! Look it up if you don't believe me. And if they are targetting Hamas then why are children and woman getting killed? How many Hamas members have they killed? The truth is, they are openly and without fear killing innocent civilians all in the name of a fight against terrorism. I do not support Hamas and their tactics but Israel is to blame for them as well. What did they expect to happen when you oppress people and take over their land for so many years? For them to smile and sit back? All these children in Gaza now who are losing their family members everyday and seeing blood shed, do you expect them to have a normal upbringing? Israel tactics only guarantee that more radicals are born. They have no morals at all. I am neither Muslim nor from that region but even I can see this. They have continuously oppressed the Palestinians. No one is helping these innocent people and it's just tragedy and disgusting. We as a species are despicable if we cannot see the atrocities going on in Gaza.

First, there was the Nakba and millions of Palestinians were 'moved' or fled as refugees as zionists spread their propaganda of fear and hatred. The irony here is that zionists were being 'gifted' Palestine, or a portion, because of what 'Jews' had suffered in the European war, making innocent Palestinians pay for European crimes. Then we had 1967 and MORE innocent Palestinians were 'moved', encircled, colonized behind walls and fortifications as illegal settlers moved into Palestine. Curious, Israelis never refer to Palestine, always the 'occupied territories'. Question: occupied by whom? Gradually, Palestine proper has been occupied over the years by nearly 500,000 Jews, claiming that Geneva conventions do not apply as they are reclaiming 'their' land. Then we had the 'unilateral' withdrawal from Gaza of the Israeli army and 'settlers'. Motive? To imprison 1.5 million Palestinians and eventually, through the blockade destroy them. Another added bonus was the Israelis had a place to deport troublesome Palestinians from Palestine Proper! ( this fact documented) Ever wonder where 1.5 million Gazan Palestinians came from? Guess what? One place is Sderot! Innocent?? I don't think so. Oh, by the way, the Israeli army destroyed the beautiful settler colony--buildings and infrastructure when they left. Meanwhile, the world governments either did nothing or supported Israel. Also, a conquered people has the right under international law to resist their occupier by whatever means. According to the latest scoring, the number of Israeli lives lost is still zip. And the world's governments? "Israel has the right to defend itself"--what????!!!!!!! As for the poster who wants Palestinians to ask for forgiveness, I say forgiveness for what? For being driven from my home? For resisting the takeover of my home? For objecting to the stealing of my land, my water and the burning of my olive trees?

I agree with everything you say and would add that the idea of populating Palestine with Jews goes back before the Second World War. It was promised to the Zionists by Lord Balfour during the First World War and - after British forces ejected Ottoman forces from the Middle East - the British Palestine Mandate saw a period of huge inward migration by Jewish Zionists. The British imperialists considered the Jews to be reliable in protecting their interests in that part of the Middle East while - at the same time - viewing Palestinians as being useless and unreliable people.
The concept of racist supremacism is not unique to Zionism or Judaism; it was also practiced by the British ruling elite too back then.
The truth is that the Palestinians have been the unfortunate victims of imperialist power politics for at least a century now.
The fascist racist Zionists have manipulated first British imperialists and latterly US imperialists into taking their side against the Palestinians.
Until that situation changes, the Zionist lunatics will carry on murdering anyone and everyone who gets in the way of their Eretz or Greater Israel project.

Educate yourself! check up news!
Recently Hamas had accepted to form a unity government with Palestinian Authority in order to enter the suggested peace talks with Israel. Hamas accepted the conditions of this Unity government, conditions that were stipulated by the US and the EU.So what’s the problem with negotiating with them? The problem is Israel doesn't want to negotiate. This is why Netanyahu started the attacks in the West Bank after the abduction of the three Israeli youths. They arrested 750 Palestinians, killed 11 civilians, including 4 children, in response to that kidnapping (which Hamas denied to having anything to do with). All this was to evoke a reaction from Hamas, so that Israel could avoid negotiations.
{N.Finklestein}

I am being frank, not rude: your naivete is showing. Hamas is being demonized at this moment on the statements of Netanyahu as to their alleged responsibility for the deaths of 3 teenage Israelis in Area C (Hamas has denied this, incidentally; & Hamas operates out of Gaza, not the West Bank.) But the Palestinian people have little reason to complain about Hamas. First, the Palestinians elected Hamas to head their government and defeated Abbas and his US-Israeli collaborators in the West Bank in the middle of the last decade. Israel and the Americans, who encouraged this particular election went apoplectic when Hamas won; the genocide of Gaza's population began then in earnest. All Israel needed in June and July was a small, sad incident-- which its propaganda apparatus exploited to the hilt--to use as a precept for destroying Hamas and more Palestinians this week.
In case you were not aware, this current attack on Gaza was begun by Israel. Hamas responded ( defended Gaza????????) by firing its own limited defenses at Israel. Do you think that Israel only has the right to defend itself?? As far as I know, no Israelis, children or otherwise, have been killed this past week in Israel's "Operation Protective Edge". Can you tell me how many civilians have been killed in Gaza during the same period?

What innocent Israelis have Hamas killed?
The 3 yeshiva students?
Where is the evidence Hamas were involved?
How can you be sure it was not a false flag operation used as a false pretext by Netanyahu to declare war on Hamas?

I wrote to both my Senators today, and the Representative in Congress. I realize that doesn't do much, but I'm not sure what else to do. I also continue to share many stories on the Facebook feed so people in my Friends list at least see the headlines.

Please, all people of the world: Boycott Everything related to Israel, before buying any product,attending any talk, concert, trip, event, verify if is linked to the government of Israel.
If you have money in any bank or institution that supports Israel,please divest.